About 50,000 people entered the draw to attend this year's dawn service at Lone Pine in Gallipoli, Turkey to mark 100 years since the landing of the Anzac troops in 1915.

Among the 10,500 Australians and New Zealanders expected will be officials, direct descendants of those who served in the Gallipoli campaign and Australian Defence Force veterans.

Gavin Sandry from near Bathurst in central west New South Wales was one of 3,000 people to secure a double pass in the general category of the ballot, sparking an intense and emotional family journey.

The farmer

Although he secured his pass in the general section of the ballot, Mr Sandry said he has learned he does have a Gallipoli connection, making the significance of the trip all the greater.

"Absolutely huge in light of the fact that we've since found out that Claude Redman, my great-uncle was actually wounded at Gallipoli," Mr Sandry said.

Claude enlisted in 1915 as a 31-year-old, was wounded at Gallipoli, evacuated to Egypt to recover and eventually returned to the front.

He continued fighting in Turkey before being taken prisoner of war and dying in 1918 on a ship headed to Egypt, possibly after the war had ended.

His family didn't learn of his fate until at least a year later.

Claude's brother Walter joined up in 1916 aged 37 and served in France, where in 1917 he was twice wounded, including being shot in the chest, before going back in to action and dying in 1918.

As well as spending a week trawling through records at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, the Sandrys have compiled a family war history folder.

It includes newspaper articles and letters detailing attempts made by Claude and Walter's family to track what happened to them as well as telegrams finally confirming their deaths.

Two sets of brothers

Like Claude and Walter, who farmed together at Jerry's Plains in the New South Wales Hunter Valley, Gavin farms with his brother Rowan at Wimbledon near Bathurst.

It is in Rowan Sandry's home that ornately framed pictures of Claude and Walter hang on the wall just near a Turkish teapot.

"I was there [in Gallipoli] last year. I cruised through the Dardanelles and [at] Anzac Cove I burst out crying; it was very emotional," Rowan said.

"Growing up, Gavin and I both knew our great-grandmother, she didn't die until I think she was 94.

"She used to talk about the war and her two brothers and she'd well up and cry every time we spoke about it.

"I'm glad that I did it last year and I'm really pleased that Gavin and Leanne and the boys are doing it this year because it's just so deep and meaningful."

The history student son

Two of Gavin and Leanne Sandry's sons, Josh and Ben, will fly out with them this weekend and be with them at Gallipoli, although they won't be at the Lone Pine dawn service and will stay in another section with the tour group.

For Ben who is studying modern history at school, preparing for the trip has been particularly powerful.

"It's unbelievable. For the past six months we've been talking about it non-stop, every night," he said.

"It'll be real hard to take in. They [the Anzacs] were only a few years older than I am.

"I'm getting nervous going to see the things they saw. I can't believe what they would have had to see."

A mother relates

For Leanne it's gearing up to be an emotional time as she said she relates to those other mothers of young men, 100 years ago.

She has also formed relationships with other ballot ticket holders, particularly through a special Gallipoli 2015 Facebook site.

"We've made wonderful friendships on that site and there are actually people who've traced back through their family members through other people on the Facebook site whose relatives were at Gallipoli as well," Leanne said.

"They've written about them in their diaries and they've made that connection. It's quite incredible really."

As well as the historical research, Leanne has had to prepare physically and decide what goes into the one backpack she and Gavin are allowed to take to Anzac Cove on the night of April 24.

"It gets down to -2 and up to 30 degrees during the day so it's quite difficult," she explained.

"We're packing a sleeping bag and some warm clothes and some thermals but we're from Bathurst so we're used to the cold weather."